Empire Life Investments Inc. Raises Position in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)

Empire Life Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 581,635 shares of the coal producer’s stock after buying an additional 35,382 shares during the quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc.’s holdings in Peabody Energy were worth $12,179,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Peabody Energy by 265,937.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 8,023,686 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $212,949,000 after buying an additional 8,020,670 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Peabody Energy by 113.5% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,350,855 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $28,287,000 after buying an additional 718,274 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Peabody Energy by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,631,707 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $202,546,000 after buying an additional 540,219 shares in the last quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Peabody Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $8,484,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in Peabody Energy by 547.9% in the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 273,529 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $7,259,000 after buying an additional 231,309 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

NYSE BTU opened at $16.22 on Friday. Peabody Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $15.79 and a 52-week high of $29.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.15. The company has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.01 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a fifty day moving average of $19.50 and a 200-day moving average of $22.66.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The coal producer reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.25). Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 10.33% and a net margin of 8.75%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Peabody Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Benchmark cut their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th.

About Peabody Energy

Peabody Energy Corporation engages in coal mining business in the United States, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, India, Brazil, Belgium, Chile, France, Indonesia, China, Vietnam, South Korea, Germany, and internationally. The company operates through Seaborne Thermal, Seaborne Metallurgical, Powder River Basin, Other U.S.